Friday, September 3, 2010

As we come to another Friday, maybe you’re feeling that you haven’t really made much of a difference this week. Get up, get to work, take care of things at home, rest a little … then get up and do it all over again.

A friend shared a story with me this week. It offers a little hope that, in the midst of the daily grind, we might suddenly find ourselves in the position of being an instrument of blessing. And in the most surprising places.

She had been a regular customer at a particular drive-thru for a while, and she frequently found herself being served by a man many people might have written off. He wasn’t terribly attractive, and he had difficulty making himself understood because of a speech impediment. Still, she would talk with him when she went through the drive-thru, and it seemed to brighten his day.

One day, she asked the usual, “How are you?”; and the man shared some trouble he was facing. She stayed at the window longer than normal, actually listening. And at the end, she offered, “I’m so sorry to hear all that. I’ll be sure to pray for you.”

“Really?” the man replied, taken aback. “You’d really pray for me?” He couldn’t imagine someone would have said such a thing to him.

The next time my friend went through the drive-thru, she greeted the man as usual, and they had their regular conversation. Then he asked, “Are you still … you know … I mean … for me?”

“Absolutely I’m still praying for you,” she said, with a smile. “And I’ll be happy to keep it up.” It made his day.

I have no idea what happened in that man’s life, as far as his difficult issue is concerned. I have no miraculous story to tell of healing that sprang from my friend’s prayer. But I can say, with certainty, that her willingness simply to say “I’ll pray for you” made all the difference for someone in pain.